I’ve always been interested in publishing — from the zines I made as a teenager, to the articles I’ve written for magazines over the years, to the blog I kept as a Master’s student (back when it was a hot thing to blog), and now for the past three years at V2_ Institute for the Unstable Media, initiating and leading the e-publishing programme as part of my Blowup series of events.
Over this past three years, there have been many lessons learned in terms of both producing and distributing content in eBook form. In May this year I was invited to give a talk entitled The eBook as a Vehicle for Re-dissemination and Creation, as part of Off The Press: Electronic Publishing in the Arts, a conference convened by the Institute for Network Cultures and hosted by the Boijmans Museum. The talk sums up some of my thoughts on the eBook as a form — in particular as a unique platform to give new life to old content, to repackage and remix, and to inspire groups to rapidly generate content which responds to current events (“booksprinting”).
As 2014 draws to a close, I looked back over the year and thought it timely to share the link to my talk on e-publishing alongside links to download the eBooks that I produced at V2_ this year (which all relate to themes of innovation, materiality, and extreme scenarios). They are free to download, so enjoy, and happy holidays!
Last year around this time, designer/researcher Michele Perras posted her Top Ten of 2010 to Twitter. I enthusiastically jumped in and posted my top 10 too — it seemed a great way to look back and celebrate the year. The list covered life events, achievements, fabulous trips, et cetera.
Top Ten of Twenty Eleven doesn’t have the same ring Top Ten of Twenty Ten had to it, plus I wanted to do something a little different than last year. It was hard to pare it down, but I thought I would try to keep it to the Top 5 of 2011 and include some photos. Here goes!
1. This year an exhibition entitled Constellations opened at Cornerhouse in Manchester UK, which I co-curated with my friend and collaborator, Karen Gaskill. The show featured works by Kitty Kraus, Katie Paterson, Takahiro Iwasaki, and Felix Gonzalez-Torres, and investigated themes of impermanence and flux. I know I’m biased, but I’m very proud of how beautiful and coherent the show was. Karen and I are already scheming about the next project! Out of Disorder (hair) by Takahiro Iwasaki. Photo by We Are Tape. Untitled by Kitty Kraus. Photo by We Are Tape.
2. I started my wonderful job as Curator at V2_ Institute for the Unstable Media in Rotterdam and kicked off Blowup, a brand new event and exhibition series there. Over the year I delivered 5 successful editions of Blowup and the organisation’s first e-Book series (in the form of readers that accompany each Blowup event). More exciting things to come in 2012, including the Dutch Electronic Art Festival! Blowup: The Era of Objects, with Julian Bleecker, Alexandra Deschamps-Sonsino, Anab Jain. With me doing my best Oprah Winfrey. Photo by Jan Nass. Doing my best Vanna White. Photo by Jan Nass.
3. Travel highlights: I was an invited guest of BAM in their International Curator’s Programme and had a blast discovering Flanders; gave 4 talks in 7 days on a whirlwind and magical tour through Ukraine; visited the Venice Biennale during opening week; and enjoyed the IKT (international association of curators of contemporary art) Congress in Luxembourg and Metz. I’m really looking forward to more great trips in 2012, including going to places I’ve not yet been, like Tel Aviv. Karla Black, Scotland + Venice Nice to see a queue for contemporary art! Pinchuk Art Centre, Kyiv, Ukraine
4. I gave lectures in a number of places scattered around the globe, from Durham, Ontario, Canada to Lviv, Ukraine and many spots in-between (including my first Pecha Kucha here in Amsterdam to a packed house at Trouw), and I also picked up a speaking agent — Tessa Sterkenburg at The Next Speaker. Contact Tessa if you want to book me for 2012. Dan McGee and I, in Durham, Ontario, at the Common Pulse symposium. Photo by David Jhave Johnston. Lviv, Ukraine
5. I brought on four fabulous international correspondents to help with Curating.info, commissioned a new logo by designer Rita Godlevskis, and kicked off a huge new project: the Curating.info Fellowship, with CCA Glasgow. New Curating.info logo by Rita Godlevskis New site look and feel (ideas and implementation by Mikhel Proulx)
What are your top 5 highlights from this past year?
Looking forward to what 2012 has to bring!
